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The Birdwell Brothers“There’s no doubt that being selected to represent Louisiana Gospel Music at the Louisiana World’s Fair was the high point of our careers,” said Harvey Birdwell, lead singer and spokesman for the Birdwell Brothers’ Quartet.
According to information obtained from Dr. Don Hatley of Northwestern State University (NSU), Gusty Kilgore, pianist, and Harvey plus three other Birdwells made up the quartet. Hoyt, a school bus driver for many years, sang high tenor; Vernon, a retired school teacher, sings tenor; Raymond, retired from the Louisiana Highway Department, sang bass. Harvey raised cattle and for many years served on the Natchitoches Parish School Board. Gusty joined the group in 1960; for several years she taught school in the Natchitoches Parish School System.
The Birdwells started performing in public in the mid-1940’s. They sang on radio stations in Natchitoches, Many, and Mansfield. Besides singing on radio broadcasts, the brothers performed at old time singing conventions, and, in the 1950s, began singing at funerals.
At one time Harvey had commented that “Gospel singing has changed over the years. The old-time singing convention has faded. Now, we do a lot of special event performances. The songs have changed too. In the old days we were asked to sing ‘There’s a Little Pine Log Cabin’. We still do that, but today a song like ‘There’ll Be No One to Welcome Me Home’ is requested.”
As with most traditional performers, the Birdwells learned to sing at home. “In the evening Daddy would sit out on the porch after supper, and he would start singing. Then, we would join in. There were eight of us boys. Mama would finish washing and drying the dishes, and then she would come out. We did this nearly every night,” one Birdwell brother recalled.
There were other influences too. At singing schools, the Birdwells learned the fundamentals of song writing and note singing. Later, Jimmie Davis was especially influential on Harvey, both as a musician and as a personal friend. The group, as a whole, paid particular attention to the work of the John Daniels Quartet out of Nashville, Tennessee, and the Blackwoods Brothers.
Besides their pride in being selected for the Louisiana Exposition, the Birdwells were happy to support the development of the Rebel Park Commemorative Area. The Birdwells participated in the Louisiana Folklife Festival and in the Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival. In recognition of their contribution to gospel singing in North Louisiana, the Birdwells were inducted into NSU’s Hall of Master Folk Artists in 1990.
“We were fortunate to grow up in a singing family and in a section of the country where gospel music is loved and respected,” concluded Harvey. “Whether at a festival or helping console a bereaved family at a funeral, we love to perform for the public and to share our songs.”